Big, Easy MoneyAugust 17th, 2006Disaster profiteers make millions while local companies and laborers in New Orleans and the rest of the Katrina-devastated Gulf Coast region are systematically getting the short end of the stick, according to a major new report from the nonprofit CorpWatch.
Click here for the press release, to see key findings, get quick facts, read the text version or to download the report.Listen to audio of the August 18th press conference, with Rita J. King, Pratap Chatterjee and Brooke Biggs.

Intelligence in Iraq: L-3 Supplies Spy Supportby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchAugust 9th, 2006L-3 Communications, a little-known but gigantic military contractor, provides 300 contract intelligence experts to the Pentagon in Iraq to support operations ranging from interrogation to media analysis. The secretive $426.5 million operation, which is run out of Virginia, may be a recipe for disaster, say critics.
Also see related story, A Translator's Tale, by Pratap Chatterjee.

A Translator's Taleby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchAugust 9th, 2006Goran Habbeb was shot and left for dead by gunmen in Iraq for helping troops in counter-intelligence tasks. He worked for Titan, a military contractor, who supply translators to the military under a profitable multi-billion dollar contract. Almost 200 of their workers have been killed, the highest by far of any contractor in Iraq.

Pinochet's Dutch Secretby Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatchJuly 24th, 2006A major Dutch arms manufacturer's bankruptcy revealed a secret deal to supply weapons to General Augusto Pinochet of Chile. The man behind the scheme is now a tax exile who appears to be immune from charges of bribery or tax evasion.

Iraq After Halliburtonby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJuly 12th, 2006The controversial multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton to provide logistical support to U.S. troops in Iraq has been canceled. What should happen next? Read our three alternative annual reports on Halliburton, to learn the real legacy of the company's incompetence and corruption.Listen to an interview with CorpWatch's director, Pratap Chatterjee.

Border for Saleby Joseph Richey, Special to CorpWatchJuly 5th, 2006Five major military contractors are competing to design a system to tackle up to two million undocumented immigrants a year in the United States. Boeing, Ericsson, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are working on proposals that focus on high technology rather than high fences, but ignoring some of the fundamental problems of immigration.
Listen to an interview with author, Joseph Richey.

A Proxy Battle: Shareholders vs. CEOsby Kevin Kelleher, Special to CorpWatchJune 13th, 2006Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat.

Green Fuel's Dirty Secretby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchJune 1st, 2006Ethanol made from corn has been touted as the "green fuel" of the future. Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. producer of ethanol, stands to make a fortune from environmentally conscious car drivers. But is ethanol really as environmentally clean as it is hyped to be?
Listen to an interview with Sasha Lilley on CorpWatch Radio.

Stolen for Steel: Tata Takes Tribal Lands in Indiaby Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpWatchMay 24th, 2006The Tata Group, one of India's biggest and oldest multinationals, has taken over tribal land to build an enormous steel plant in Orissa. A clash between the traditional owners of the land and the police has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths, calling into the question the prestigious family-owned company's philanthropic image.

Entergy Holds New Orleans for Ransomby Rita J. King, Special to Corp WatchMay 10th, 2006Entergy, one of the largest utilities in the U.S., has enjoyed healthy profits since Hurricane Katrina. Yet its New Orleans subsidiary has filed for bankruptcy, and frightened ratepayers with visions of bills bloated to 140% of their pre-storm size. Now the Fortune 500 company is threatening to pull the plug on New Orleans if it doesn't get a $700 million-plus federal bailout it doesn't actually need.

Target: Wal-Mart Liteby Kari Lydersen, Special to CorpWatchApril 20th, 2006Shopping in a Target store, you know you’re not in Wal-Mart. But, critics say that in terms of working conditions, sweatshop-style foreign suppliers, and effects on local retail communities, big box Target stores are very much like Wal-Mart, just in a prettier package.

Australia Reaps Iraqi Harvestby Marc Moncrief, Special to CorpWatchApril 4th, 2006United Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein may have failed to end his regime but they succeeded in enriching both the Iraqi dictator and corporations able to manipulate the scandal-ridden world body's Oil-for-Food program. Among the profiteers was the Australian Wheat Board, a former state-owned monopoly, which funneled over $200 million into Saddam's coffers even as the “Coalition of the Willing” was preparing for invasion.

Pink "iPods" for Democracy!by Fariba Nawa, Special to CorpWatchMarch 15th, 2006Voice for Humanity recently sold tens of thousands of pink and silver audio players to the United States government to teach Afghan villagers about democracy. Critics say that the project was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Others say it is a perfect example of the covert "information war" conducted in the "war on terrorism."

Happy Meals, Unhappy Workersby Aaron Glantz and Ngoc Nguyen, Special to CorpWatchMarch 6th, 2006Vietnamese workers earn less than $2 a day making stuffed animals and Happy Meal toys for U.S. consumers. An ongoing series of wildcat strikes this winter has forced the government to raise wages to prevent factories from moving to other countries.

Ports of Profit
by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 24th, 2006The ports of Dubai make up some of the busiest commercial hubs in the world for the "global war of terrorism." Conveniently located between the Afghanistan and Iraq, Dubai is the ideal jumping-off point for military contractors and a lucrative link in the commercial supply chain of goods and people.

Baghdad Embassy Bonanzaby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 12th, 2006A controversial Kuwait-based construction firm accused of exploiting employees and coercing low-paid laborers to work in war-torn Iraq against their will is now building the new $592-million U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Listen to an interview with David Phinney about this article on CorpWatch Radio.

Gasoline Crisis in Iraqby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 8th, 2006Contract mismanagement and possible corruption in the Iraqi government are fueling a crisis over international gasoline delivery into Iraq. Citing a mountain of unpaid bills, the governments of Turkey and Saudi Arabia have shut off gasoline exports to Iraq. With it's options dwindling and beleaguered Iraqis demanding fuel, Baghdad has begun to negotiate with former arch-rival, Iran.

Iraqi Port Weathers Danish Stormby Lotte Folke Kaarsholm, Charlotte Aagaard and Osama Al-Habahbeh, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 31st, 2006High-ranking officials from the United States as well as Iraq accuse the Danish shipping company Maersk of having taken advantage of the chaos of war in order to grab control of Iraq’s oil port.

Uruguay: Pulp Factions: Uruguay’s Environmentalists v. Big Paperby Raúl Pierri, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 16th, 2006Massive monoculture plantations have begun a cascade of changes to Uruguay’s economy, environment and culture. Now, the foreign corporations that grow the trees are escalating the process by building massive pulp mills that threatening lives and livelihoods.

HAITI: Haiti Telecom Kickbacks Tarnish Aristideby Lucy Komisar, Special to CorpWatchDecember 29th, 2005In two lawsuits, politically connected U.S. telecom companies have been accused of kickbacks to Former President Aristide and his associates.

Some Strings Attached: Cotton, Farm subsidies tie up global trade talksby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchDecember 13th, 2005West African cotton farmers are among those hardest hit by government subsidized corporate agriculture. This week in Hong Kong, trade ministers from the 148 members of the World Trade Organization meet to discusss this and other global free trade issues.

From Mercenaries to Peacemakers?by David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchNovember 29th, 2005A grainy video (download here) of private contractors shooting at civilian cars on Iraqi streets poses a difficult question: how should the military security industry be regulated? Do they have a role in peacekeeping or are they part of the problem?

Vedanta Undermines Indian Communitiesby Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpwatchNovember 15th, 2005Vedanta, a fast growing British mining and aluminium production company founded by a billionaire expatriate Bombay businessman, threatens communities in India with environmental degradation and widespread pollution.

Shot Down: Lobby Kills Brazil Gun Banby Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatchOctober 25th, 2005The world’s first ever referendum on banning civilian guns in Brazil failed to pass this past Sunday. Among those profiting are Taurus, the largest small arms producer and manufacturer in Latin America.

Blood, Sweat & Tears:
Asia’s Poor Build U.S. Bases in Iraqby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchOctober 3rd, 2005Thousands of low-wage Asian laborers are traveling to Iraq to work for U.S. military contractors like First Kuwaiti and Prime Projects International in the hope of sending money home to their families. Trapped and exploited under inhuman conditions, many of them are now fleeing the country to save their lives.

Big, Easy Iraqi-Style Contracts Flood New Orleansby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 20th, 2005As Katrina's flood waters recede, government contractors are flowing into the Gulf Coast and reaping billions of dollars in pre-bid, limited bid, and sometimes no-bid contracts. Many of these contractors and the men who award them are the same players who bungled the reconstruction of Iraq. Deja vu all over again.

Hurricane Katrina and Climate Justiceby Joshua Karliner, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 12th, 2005For nearly five years George Bush has infuriated much of the world by refusing to take action on global warming. Instead, he has called for more study. In a way, he got what he wanted with Hurricane Katrina.

The Cows Have Come Homeby Diane Farsetta, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 1st, 2005After fighting mad cow safeguards, the US beef industry complains about the consequences - a multi-billion dollar decline in exports - and a shortage of imported beef because of inadequate domestic testing and labeling.

Bad Faith: Fraud in the Insurance Industryby Ray Bourhis, Special to CorpWatchAugust 24th, 2005When individuals sue major corporations, the odds are stacked against them. One woman's fight against an insurance giant details those odds and what it takes to beat them.

The Great American Jobs Scamby Greg LeRoy, Special to CorpWatchAugust 10th, 2005Lurking within the records of most cities and states in America there lies a scandal. A tax scandal. A jobs scandal. A corporate and political scandal.

Mixing Occuption and Oil in Western Sahara
by Jacob Mundy, Special to CorpWatchJuly 21st, 2005Oklahoma-based Kerr-McGee's contract with Morocco to explore for oil and gain in the contested territory on the Atlantic coast of northern Africa is complicating a 30 year independence struggle.

Halliburton Hearing Unearths New Abuseby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJune 27th, 2005 "Misplaced" portable military bases, thousand-dollar VCRs, and expired food are only a few of the new charges that have been brought against the most powerful military contractor in Iraq.

Barrick Gold Strikes Opposition in South America by Glenn Walker, Special to CorpWatchJune 20th, 2005A proposal to "relocate" three Andean glaciers to mine for gold has local people up in arms. This billion dollar development could destroy a major source of clean water on the border of Argentina and Chile.

Playing Chicken: Ghana vs. the IMFby Linus Atarah, Special to CorpWatchJune 14th, 2005Thanks to the IMF and the World Bank, chicken and other local agriculture staples in Ghana are being replaced by subsidized foreign imports.

Marines Jail Contractors in Iraq by David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchJune 7th, 2005Tension and confusion are on the rise in Iraq after a group of American security contractors were thrown in jail under suspicion for shooting at the US Marines in Fallujah.

The Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline: BP’s Time Bomb by Hannah Ellis, Special to CorpWatchJune 2nd, 2005With their newly opened pipeline, British Petroleum (BP) is cutting a path of environmental and social irresponsibility from the Caspian to the Mediterranean.

Adding Insult to Injury by David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchMay 24th, 2005Many Halliburton contractors leave Iraq with debilitating injuries and deep psychological scars. Then they return home only to find that the insurance they need to rebuild their lives is out of reach.

Houston, We Still Have A Problemby Andrea Buffa and Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMay 16th, 2005This week, CorpWatch publishes a special alternative annual report on Halliburton. From bribery, fraud, and corruption in Iraq, to the undermining of US government regulations that protect drinking water at home, we take a closer look at this controversial company's track record in 2004.

Yukos Kingpin on Trialby Lucy Komisar, Special to CorpWatchMay 10th, 2005This week, a Moscow court will issue a verdict in the tax fraud trial of billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky. While some critics argue that the charges are politically motivated, others question his innocence in the eyes of the West.

'Tis the Season for Shareholder Activismby Jan Frel, Special to CorpWatchMay 4th, 2005Every spring, activists and investors attend annual general meetings to protest and meet face-to-face with CEOs and corporate boards. The goal is to place their agendas -- on everything from the environment to labor practices -- front and center.

Contract Quagmire in Iraqby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchApril 27th, 2005Rioting and threats of work stoppages at critical transportation hubs needed to rebuild the war-torn Iraq have erupted in recent months following payment disputes between contractors originally hired by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority and Iraqi officials skeptical of the billings and the CPA's handiwork.

Meat Packer's Union on the Chopping Blockby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchApril 18th, 2005Today's meat packing industry relies increasingly on high-speed, treacherous disassembly lines. Perhaps that's why Tyson Foods, Inc. -- a giant in a flourishing industry -- is working to take apart a union that prioritizes safety over speed.

University, Inc. by Jennifer Borden, Special to CorpWatchApril 11th, 2005From research patents to high-stakes partnerships, Jennifer Washburn spent years researching the links between industry and the American University. In this exclusive interview with CorpWatch's Jennifer Borden, Washburn talks about what she found, why it matters and what you can do about it.

Bringing Business Back Ashoreby Lucy Komisar, Special to CorpWatchApril 4th, 2005A new breed of leadership is working to make Buenos Aires, Argentina, a local, transparent economy and a model for the rest of the world.

Halliburton Bribery Scandal Deepensby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchMarch 29th, 2005Halliburton officials are being investigated for taking millions of dollars in bribes while staying at a lavish seaside resort in Kuwait, in return for sub-contracts to supply the US military in Iraq. Jeff Alex Mazon is the first of these Halliburton managers to be indicted for corruption.

Driving Into Dangerby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMarch 29th, 2005A grieving family is suing Halliburton for the wrongful death of Tony Johnson, a truck driver killed while en route on the deadliest day the Iraq war has seen so far. Did the company knowingly place their workers in harm's way? The Johnsons -- and the flood of families waiting to file similar lawsuits -- say they did.

Food Giants on the Runby Michele Simon, Special to CorpWatchMarch 21st, 2005The food industry is working with politicians across the United States to rewrite laws in order to shield themselves from lawsuits based on obesity and related health problems.

Fighting the Big Gunns in Tasmaniaby Tom Price, Special to CorpWatchMarch 14th, 2005The war between the world's largest woodchip exporter, Gunns Limited, and the Australian conservation community has been raging for decades. But the company's recent efforts to silence Tasmanian activists through lawsuits could earn them millions and set a very dangerous precedent.
ALSO: BlueLinx Buys Illegal Indonesian Timber

An Interrogator Speaks Outby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMarch 7th, 2005A former military interrogator talks about what went wrong at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

Intelligence, Inc.by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMarch 7th, 2005US military interrogators -- who will work at sites ranging from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay -- must first receive training at one obscure military fort in Southern Arizona. Today, that training has been taken over by private contractors working for profit.
ALSO: An Interrogator Speaks Out

Carbon: Under Kyoto, a Hot Commodity by Daphne Wysham, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 18th, 2005Are World Bank-funded efforts to compensate for corporate emissions sustainable? Or will they affect poor communities disproportionately?

The Carbon Brokersby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 18th, 2005Traders are gearing up for a new futures market. These new carbon exchanges promise billions in potential profit, but will they save the planet?

Spinning Media for Governmentby Chris Raphael, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 10th, 2005Public relations giant Omnicom has received almost a quarter of a billion dollars in contracts from the federal government for public relations work. At least one has been labeled "covert propaganda," another involved paying off a journalist and opinion-maker.

Two World Forums, Two Visionsby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 27th, 2005While the world's biggest CEOs and politicians gather in Davos, Switzerland to network and negotiate, activists and NGO-workers meet halfway around the world in Porto Alegre, Brazil to imagine other, more humanity-focused possibilities.

Exporting Cures, Importing Miseryby By Stan Cox, AlterNetJanuary 19th, 2005The Kazipally industrial area – once good farm country – now accounts for more than one-third of India's pharmaceutical industry, meaning skyrocketing rates of cancer, heart disease and birth defects for its residents.

Egyptian Asbestos Workers Dying of Cancerby Aaron Glantz, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 13th, 2005Workers at Aura-Misr, a Spanish-Egyptian asbestos company in Cairo, have been laid off since Christmas, after a ban on asbestos took effect in the country. Many of the fired workers have been diagnosed with cancer and they worry that other workers may soon fall ill and die also.

Boeing Scandal Part of Deeper Problems at Pentagonby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 5th, 2005Military contractors like Boeing, Halliburton and Lockheed, have become increasingly embedded with the Pentagon bureaucrats who give them lucrative work as the jailing of Darleen Druyun, a former U.S. Air Force weapons buyer, demonstrates.

Iraq Contractor Claims Immunity From Fraud Lawsby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchDecember 23rd, 2004A Virginia judge has been asked to decided whether or not Custer Battles, an upstart security company assigned to guard Baghdad airport, had defrauded its customers by as much as $50 million. But company lawyers are arguing that the United States government did not control the Iraqi oil money, seized during the occupation, used to pay the company.

Paving the Amazon with Soy
by Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchDecember 16th, 2004Soy rules the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso and it's not the soy that much of the world associates with the ostensibly eco-friendly, vegetarian diet, either. With help from the World Bank, André Maggi (the Soy King) is bankrolling the destruction of one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems: the savanna.

“Contract Meals Disaster" for Iraqi Prisonersby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchDecember 9th, 2004New evidence suggests that the Abu Ghraib prisoners were subjected not only to torture and psychological abuse, they were underfed, malnourished and made to eat food so bad it inspired riots. A little-known private contractor, run by an American civilian, is said to be to blame.

Dynamite in the Center of Townby Joshua Karliner, Special to CorpWatchDecember 2nd, 2004In 1984 the world's largest industrial disaster killed 8,000 people over night in Bhopal, India. Two decades later, some sort of closure might seem called for. But today survivors groups continue to struggle for justice, while the chemical industry promotes volunteer initiatives.

Clouds on the Organic Horizonby Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, Special to CorpWatchNovember 25th, 2004Until a decade ago, organic foods were available only through tiny farmers markets, health and natural food stores, but today their growing popularity means that more organic food is now sold by chain stores like Whole Foods. Often, the food itself is grown on corporate-owned farms, no longer synonymous with small farms, rural communities, social justice and humane treatment of animals.

Cooking the Insurance Booksby Lucy Komisar, Special to CorpWatchNovember 17th, 2004As New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charges American International Group (AIG) executives with collusion in an insurance brokerage kickback scandal, a paper trail stretching back a decade reveals that AIG used offshore shell companies to skirt the law.

Kuwait Documents Allege Halliburton Bribe Scandalby David Phinney, Special to CorpwatchNovember 11th, 2004Newly revealed documents, dating from December 2003 and the early months of 2004, allege that Halliburton staff in Kuwait asked for kickbacks from selected contractors while undermining others who were looking for work from the multi-billion dollar contracts that the company oversees for the military occupation force in Iraq.

Agent Orange Victims Sue Monsantoby Tom Fawthrop, Special to CorpWatchNovember 4th, 2004Vietnamese Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) filed a class action law suit in a New York court, against Monsanto and 36 other manufacturers of Agent Orange.

Halliburton Hit with Multiple Lawsuitsby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchOctober 27th, 2004Companies working in support of U.S. troops in Iraq are hauling Houston-headquartered defense contractor, Halliburton, into U.S. federal court with claims that the company stiffed them for hundreds of millions of dollars after they provided essential services in the war effort.

Darfur Diplomacy: Enter the Contractors by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchOctober 21st, 2004Rwandan and Nigerian soldiers will arrive in western Sudan this week as the first deployment of a five nation 4,500 strong peacekeeping force dispatched from the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa to stem the violence in Darfur. Providing logistical support for the mission will be two private contractors from California, both of whom have mixed records carrying out similar enterprises in the past.

Iraq Contractor Accused of Offshore Shell Gameby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchOctober 14th, 2004Former managers working for Custer Battles, a high-profile private security company in Iraq, are accusing the firm of using companies in the Cayman Islands and other “tax haven” countries to fraudulently overcharge on government contracts by tens of millions of dollars.

Banking on Electionsby Lucy Komisar, Special to CorpwatchOctober 6th, 2004 Finance sector invests heavily in candidates
When former Texas Senator Phil Gramm came out of the Tavern on the Green one recent August morning, his disposition turned edgy. Now a vice chairman of the Swiss financial corporation UBS, he had just left his colleagues at the Financial Services Roundtable breakfast. He wasn't keen on talking to waiting journalists, certainly not to the CorpWatch team.

"Rigged from the Beginning"
by David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 30th, 2004A once secret Halliburton oil contract raked in billions long after the Army said the work would be competitively bid. As of September 2004 Halliburton billed over $2.5 billion. A Bechtel whistleblower calls the bidding process to break up the work, "a sham."

Leaving Children Behindby Ben Clarke, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 23rd, 2004Exam privatization threatens public schools
"They make kids in my class feel dumb," says Vanessa Verdín about the corporate-designed standardized tests that millions of U.S. students are required to take under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Vanessa, an energetic eleven year old whose hobbies include soccer, knitting and research, feels that the tests "ask the wrong questions" and "waste time when we could be learning."

Prison Interrogation for Profitby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 15th, 2004Private contractors face legal action for crimes in Abu Ghraib
Employees of two high-profile defense contractors are accused of involvement in close to one third of the torture and abuse incidents cited in a recent Army investigation of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

November Surpriseby Stephen Miller, Special to CorpwatchSeptember 8th, 2004Electronic Voting Machines Add Uncertainty to Close Election Race
Across the U.S., dozens of election commissions, county clerks and voting registrars are scrambling to maintain public confidence in an election system shaken by the Florida 2000 debacle and challenged by security flaws in hi-tech electronic solutions. In the swing states, where the presidential election is expected to be close, 14 of 20 states will be experimenting with untested technology.

Media Moneyby Sakura Saunders and Ben Clarke, Special to CorpWatchAugust 25th, 2004Media corporations give millions, receive billions. The cost for two weeks of ad-driven debate on Kerry's military record cost almost $1 million. Political advertising will bring over $1.5 billion to media corporations this election season. In turn they will invest millions in campaign contributions and lobbying. Meanwhile, substantive political coverage continues to decline.

ANC Privatizations Fail to Deliver in South Africaby Patrick Bond, Special to CorpwatchAugust 18th, 2004"Privatization can only worsen conditions for the majority. The reality of the Telkom sale is that property is being expropriated from 46 million South Africans to be auctioned off to, at best, 1 million 'investors' in the name of black economic empowerment."

Sweating for the Olympicsby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchAugust 11th, 2004Behind the five intertwined rings of the Athens games, underpaid workers are sewing the shirts, gluing the shoes, and putting zippers to running suits and track apparel branded as Olympic--in working conditions that would make even the most highly trained athlete sweat.

Information Warriorsby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchAugust 4th, 2004Rendon Group Wins Hearts and Minds in Business, Politics and War
The Rendon Group is a consulting firm whose services range from creating "a favorable environment before privatization begins" to helping justify war. Rick Rendon, a founding partner talks to CorpWatch about his latest project, "Empowering Peace."

Up in Smokeby Chris Berdik, Special to CorpwatchJuly 28th, 2004Tobacco Industry Saves on Soft Money, Spends On Advertising and Lobbyists
The quadrennial special-interest cash race is on. Although the McCain-Feingold Act has blocked some of the flow, the political system is still awash with tobacco dollars.

Financing the Election
by Bill Mesler, Special to CorpWatchJuly 22nd, 2004John Kerry will accept the Democratic nomination to run for United States President at the Fleet Center, a sports and entertainment arena named after the powerful FleetBoston Corporation, the biggest donor to Kerry's Congressional career.

A Cabinet That Looks Like (Corporate) Americaby Bill Mesler, Special to CorpWatchIncreasingly, the highest of government officials arrive directly from the executive offices of powerful corporations. Those who regulate and those supposed to be regulated have become almost indistinguishable. Here are a few egregious examples.

Stalled Case Against ExxonMobil Sees Movementby Jacqueline Koch, Special to CorpWatchJuly 14th, 2004After languishing in the courts for two years, a lawsuit that accuses ExxonMobil of complicity in human rights violations is beginning to move, thanks to the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Not in Their Backyard
by Jacqueline Koch, Special to CorpWatchJuly 14th, 2004Legal experts, activists, and analysts weigh impact of Supreme Court decision to uphold the Alien Tort Claims Act, commonly used by human rights groups to try cases against U.S. corporations on American soil.

Corporations Fight to Avoid Accountabilityby Stephen R. Miller , Special to CorpWatchJuly 7th, 2004Two years after Congress enacted the sweeping corporate-accountability act known as "SOX," corporate officials are hoping their complaints will take the teeth out of the legislation's power to regulate.

Selections, Not Elections
by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJuly 1st, 2004The system od "selections, not elections" disenfranchises many local people. It was pioneered by North Carolina-based Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, which won a $167 million United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contract,

Inventing Iraqi Democracy in North Carolinaby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJuly 1st, 2004Former employees of RTI, a North Carolina company with a $167 million military contract to teach Iraqis about democracy, say the company failed in its task.

Sweet and Sourby Jim Lobe, Special to CorpWatchJune 23rd, 2004A new report from Human Rights Watch reveals that American corporations such as Coca-Cola may be getting sugar from plantations in El Salvador that employ child labor.

Give War a Chance: the Life and Times of Tim Spicer
by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJune 9th, 2004Strange or villianous, Tim Spicer's business partners over the years, have found themselves in hot water from Canada to Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe, although he has always somehow managed to avoid prosecution.

From Embassy Hero to Racing Disgraceby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJune 9th, 2004In order to restore the reputation of the venerable British institution, in March 2002, Phipps launched dawn raids on five National Hunt trainers--including nine-time champion Martin Pipe--to investigate whether the trainers were illegally plying the horses with the blood-boosting drug erythropoieitin.

Ex-SAS Men Cash in on Iraq Bonanzaby Pratap ChatterjeeJune 9th, 2004Many of the best-paid private security contracts in Iraq are managed by a small group of British ex-soldiers who served in the Special Air Services (SAS), an elite regiment of commandos that is considered one of the best special force units in the world.

Controversial Commando Wins Iraq Contractby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJune 9th, 2004A new Iraq contract to create the world's largest private army goes to a company run by Tim Spicer, a former officer with an elite regiment of British commandos who has a questionable track record.

Landmine of a Decisionby Michael McCrystal, Special to CorpWatchMay 28th, 2004Much is at stake for the people, economy, and environment of Namibia, where Rossing Uranium is deciding between ceasing operations or spending $100 million on a 20-year expansion of one of the world's largest mines.

Barren Justiceby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchMay 13th, 2004Nicaraguan banana workers have been struggling for compensation from Dole Fruit, Shell, and Dow Chemical for exposure to the pesticide DBCP. The obstacles to justice are many, including the US courts, powerful lobbies, and free trade agreements.

Private Contractors and Torture at Abu Ghraibby Pratap Chatterjee and A.C. Thompson, Special to CorpWatchMay 7th, 2004Two private military contractors are being investigated for their role in torture allegations at the Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq: CACI from Arlington, Virginia, and Titan of San Diego, California.

Titan's Translators in Troubleby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMay 7th, 2004Titan corporation of San Diego, California, one of the two companies accused of complicity in the prison abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, is currently facing numerous federal investigations for work done in Iraq and around the world.

Private Contractors and Torture at Abu Ghraib, Iraqby Pratap Chatterjee and A.C. Thompson, Special to CorpWatchMay 7th, 2004Two private military contractors are being investigated for their role in torture allegations at the Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq: CACI from Arlington, Virginia, and Titan of San Diego, California.

Titan's Translators in Troubleby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMay 6th, 2004Titan corporation of San Diego, California, one of the two companies accused of complicity in the prison abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, is currently facing numerous federal investigations for work done in Iraq and around the world.

Poison and Profitsby Chris Thompson, East Bay ExpressApril 7th, 2004First California semiconductor firm AXT, Inc. exposed its workers to arsenic. Then it fired them and sent their jobs to China.

Mercenary Boom in Iraq Creates Tension at Home and Abroadby Aaron Glantz, Special to CorpWatchMarch 23rd, 2004Kurdish mercenaries are on the frontline of the burgeoning security business in Iraq, easily the fastest growing business sector in the country. Yet the boom may be heightening ethnic tensions there.

The Smell of Money: British Columbia's Gas Rushby Shefa Siegel, Special to CorpWatchMarch 13th, 2004In Canada's British Columbia, ExxonMobil, Talisman, Shell, and other energy giants are racing to tap the region's "sour gas". But the potential toxicity of the gas is being ignored.

ASIA: Storm Over Asian-Pacific Timber Tradeby Yoon Szu-Mae, Special to CorpWatchMarch 5th, 2004Rimbunan Hijau, a billion-dollar business owned by Malaysian tycoon Tiong Hiew King, has been engaging in illegal logging in South East Asia, while local governments turn a blind eye.

Argentina Water Privatization Scheme Runs Dryby Sebastian Hacher, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 26th, 2004Rio de la Plata is one of the few rivers of the world whose pollution can be seen from space. Making matters worse is the privatized water company Aguas Argentinas, which dumps sewage into the river a few kilometers from where it treats water for drinking.

Money for Nothing and Calls for Freeby Nidhi Kumar and Nidhi Verghese, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 17th, 2004As the outsourcing of jobs has become a hot election year issue in the US, call centers in India continue to multiply. Local workers answer calls for US corporations at a fraction of the cost of an American worker.

Operation Sweatshop Iraqby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 12th, 2004Halliburton is hiring temps to work in Iraq: $100 a month for locals, $300 for Indians and $8,000 for Texans. Meanwhile taxpayers are getting charged top dollar, prompting investigations from the United States military.

Banking on Empireby Mitch Jeserich, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 4th, 2004Iraqi ministries will now be able to borrow billions of dollars to buy much-needed equipment from overseas suppliers, but only by mortgaging the national oil revenues through a bank managed by JP Morgan Chase.

Coke with Yet Another New Twist: Toxic Colaby Amit Srivastava, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 17th, 2004As the World Social Forum opens in Mumbai, India, the spotlight has been turned on Coca-Cola and Pepsi, whose products have been found to be laden with pesticides and insecticides.

Information Warfare or Yesterday's News?by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 6th, 2004Science Applications International Corporation has a contract with the Pentagon to run the Iraqi Media Network's Al Iraqiya radio and television station. But Iraqis aren't tuning in.

Conservation at All Costsby Shefa Siegel, Special to CorpWatchDecember 22nd, 2003Conservation International is working to protect endangered species in Guyana, but in practice may have fomented conflict between tribes there.

The Troubled Marriage of Environmentalists and Oil Companiesby Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, Special to CorpWatchDecember 22nd, 2003The American environmental group Conservation International (CI) and other environmental organizations are actively collaborating with oil corporations in hopes of ameliorating the impact of their activities on local ecosystems. But observers fear that the cozy relationship that these groups have with the US government and oil companies raises serious questions regarding their independence and warn that it can undermine the grassroots work of popular movements and native peoples that aim to stop new oil drilling altogether. They also hold that it raises some serious issues regarding national sovereignty in the Global South.

Umm Qasr -- From National Pride to War Bootyby David Bacon, Special to CorpWatchDecember 15th, 2003The Iraqi port of Umm Qasr -- once a crown jewel of the Iraqi economy -- is now a symbol of a new era of foreign domination. It's run by SSA, a politically-connected firm with an ugly history of anti-labor policies.

Jordanian Privatization Extended to the Dead Seaby Oula Al Farawati, Special to CorpWatchDecember 9th, 2003Jordan is selling its stake in the flagship Arab Potash Company to the Canadian potash giant PCS as part of privatization efforts spearheaded by USAID.

Bechtel Fails Reconstruction of Iraq's Schoolsby Karim El-Gawhary, Special to CorpWatchDecember 2nd, 2003Bechtel has been awarded a contract by USAID for the reconstruction of Iraq's schools, as part of a deal worth up to $1.03 billion. But the question remains whether Bechtel, like the US army, is part of the solution or part of the problem.

Mapuche Lands in Patagonia Taken Over by Benetton Wool Farmsby Sebastian Hacher and Pauline Bartolone, Special to CorpWatchNovember 25th, 2003To the Mapuche Indians in southern Argentina, the Italian clothing manufacturer Benetton is the newest conquistador in 10,000 years of land struggles in Patagonia.

Robert Zoellick's Free Trade Evangelismby Toni Solo, Special to CorpWatchNovember 17th, 2003Free trade advocates and multinational corporations are pinning their hopes on Robert Zoellick, the United States trade representative, as negotiators from around the two continents gather in Miami for the Free Trade of the Americas talks.

BAE System's Dirty Dealingsby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchNovember 11th, 2003BAE Systems has been accused of operating a $33.4 million slush fund to procure prostitutes, sports cars, and other enticements in connection with the biggest transaction in UK history -- the Al-Yamamah arms-for-oil deal with the Saudi royal family.

Bolivian President Falls Over Gas Sale to Californiaby Jim Shultz, Special to CorpWatchOctober 22nd, 2003Bolivia has been rocked by protests against a proposed gas pipeline to be built by Pacific LNG. The consortium is made up of notorious British and Spanish multinationals, including BP and Repsol-YPF.

Clear Channel Rewrites Rules of Radio Broadcastingby Dante Toza, Special to CorpWatchOctober 8th, 2003At the annual meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters, Clear Channel kept a low profile. Yet its impact on media diversity is anything but casual -- it owns roughly one in every ten radio stations in the United States.

Private Company Manages Daily Bombing of Korean Villageby Aaron Glantz, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 27th, 2003Six days a week, US military fighter planes drop bombs a mile from the South Korean village of Maehyang-ri. The bombing range isn't run by the US Air Force and it isn't run by the US Army. It's been privatized and is under the management of Arctic Slope World Service.

Cancun Round Collapsesby Dan Jaffee, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 15th, 2003WTO negotiations collapsed in Cancun amid deep divisions between the US, EU and Japan on one side and the Group of 23, led by Brazil, South Africa, India and China, on the other.

MEXICO: Will Agricultural Issues Derail WTO Talks?by Tim Russo, Special to Corp WatchSeptember 10th, 2003A show down is taking place at the WTO over agricultural issues that pits northern countries against the global south and small farmers against worldwide agribusiness.

Guarding the Oil Underworld in Iraqby Jim Vallette and Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 5th, 2003When saboteurs struck the vital Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in northern Iraq recently, the United States government announced that a company called Erinys would be brought in to train 6,500 Iraqis to guard oil pipelines, wellheads, and refineries.

AES Backs Out of Bujagali Dam Projectby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchAugust 28th, 2003The future of a World Bank-sponsored dam scheme at Bujagali Falls on the Victoria Nile in eastern Uganda has been thrown into question with the withdrawal of energy giant AES Corporation from the project.

Bush Turns Blind Eye to Blackout Culpritby Tyson Slocum, Special to CorpWatchAugust 21st, 2003An Ohio-based energy conglomerate is responsible for the massive power blackout that shut down much of the Midwest and Northeast -- and its chief executives rank among Bush's top campaign fundraisers.

To the Victors Go the Spoils of Warby Pratap Chatterjee and Oula Al Farawati, CorpWatchAugust 8th, 2003Critics claim that the motive for the invasion of Iraq was control of Iraqi oil. And if the bonanza in oil contracts won by giant oil companies is any indication, Washington is moving swiftly to secure access to Iraq's oil wealth once and for all.

World Bank Knew About Enron's Payoffs in Guatemalaby Jim Vallette, Special to CorpWatchAugust 1st, 2003A U.S. Senate Committee report found that the World Bank and U.S. taxpayer-backed institutions financed "questionable payments" by Enron for a Guatemalan power project.

Halliburton Milks British Nuclear Submarines for Millionsby Solomon Hughes, Special to CorpWatchJuly 25th, 2003Halliburton is giving the Brits the royal shaft by embarking on multi-million dollar privatization schemes for the British military, starting with the nuclear subs at Devonport Royal Dockyards.

Talking Back to the Ganglordsby Ted Nace, Gangs of AmericaJuly 18th, 2003Computer giant Intel lost a major lawsuit against a fired employee who sent email protest letters to his former colleagues, in a court decision that is a major victory for free speech and workers' rights.

Coke in Varanasi: Facing Local Ireby Aflatoon, India Resource CenterJuly 10th, 2003On the 10th of May, 2003 about 100 people held a demonstration at the plant gate. Nearly 200 police personnel were deputed by the district authorities to 'protect' the plant along with 50 gun toting private security guards. While this agitation was suppressed by beating up the demonstrators to disperse them, local inhabitants are geared for a long struggle against the cola giant.

Coca-Cola: Continuing the Battle in Keralaby Surendranath C, India Resource CenterJuly 10th, 2003Plachimada, (Palakkad district) Kerala: The Coca Cola story in Plachimada is reminiscent of David versus the mighty Goliath. In the latest twist to the tale, the Kerala Government through the Secretary, Local Self Government Department (LSGD) has stayed the Perumatty Grama Panchayat's decision not to renew the license issued to the Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Ltd.

Communities Reject Coca-Cola in Indiaby Amit Srivastava, India Resource CenterJuly 10th, 2003Coca-Cola is in trouble in India. Communities have been fighting the multinational for depleting the groundwater and contaminating what's left. A Special Series from the India Resource Center.

Enron Style Corporate Crime and Privatizationby Darren Puscas, Polaris InstituteJune 20th, 2003An inside look at the U.S. Coalition of Service Industries (USCSI), the major driving force behind the scenes pushing for the privatization of services, including public services.

The Stalemate in the WTOby Walden Bello and Aileen Kwa, Focus on the Global SouthJune 11th, 2003An in-depth analysis of the WTO's flaws, the roots of globalization and what they mean for the upcoming WTO Summit in Cancun.

Bechtel: Profiting from Destructionby CorpWatch, Global Exchange, Public Citizen, Collaborative ReportJune 5th, 2003In this collaborative report we look at Bechtel's history of operations in the water, nuclear, energy and public works sectors.

Media Diversity at Riskby Mafruza Khan, Corporate Research ProjectMay 29th, 2003In June the FCC will vote on regulations that could dramatically change media ownership laws, endangering localism, diversity, and competition in US media.

An Unreasonable Womanby Helene Vosters, Special to CorpWatchMay 15th, 2003Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper, is a long time environmental justice activist and adversary to corporate polluters like Union Carbide and Dow Chemical. In the early 1980's after witnessing dolphin die-offs, decreased fish catches, and increased health problems in her home-town of Seadrift, Texas, Wilson discovered that she lived in the most polluted county (Calhoun) in the U.S.

Bhopal Survivors Confront Dowby Helene Vosters, Special to CorpWatchMay 15th, 2003Almost 19 years after the Bhopal gas disaster in India, survivors still seek Justice. Recently they confronted the CEO of Dow Chemical at a shareholders' meeting.

Bechtel's Water Warsby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMay 1st, 2003In November 2001 Bechtel sued the country of Bolivia for $25 million for canceling a contract to run the water system of Cochabamba, the third largest city in the country, after local people took to the streets to protest massive price hikes for water.

Bechtel's Nuclear Nightmaresby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMay 1st, 2003In part II of this special series, we look at the environmental and human rights impacts of just a few Bechtel ventures in nuclear, water and mining.

Bechtel Wins Iraq War Contractsby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchApril 24th, 2003In this special investigative series we look at Bechtel's friends in high places, the revolving door between government and the corporate giant and some of its past boondoggles.

From Business Executive to Peace Activistby Julie Light, CorpWatchApril 17th, 2003Warren Langley, former President of the Pacific Stock Exchange, talks with CorpWatch about his sojourn from the executive suites to activism in the streets.

Dyncorp Rent-a-Cops May Head to Post-Saddam Iraqby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchApril 9th, 2003A major military contractor - already underfire for alleged human rights violations and fraud - may get a multi-million dollar contract to police post-Saddam Iraq.

Busting the Water Cartelby Holly Wren Spaulding, Special to CorpWatchMarch 27th, 2003A report from inside the World Water Forum on the showdown between water privatizers and human rights activists.

Vinnell, Brown and Root at Turkey's Incirlik Airbaseby Pratap Chatterjee and Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchMarch 20th, 2003Brown and Root's role at Incirlik began on October 1, 1988 when the company won its first contract to run support services at the base in collaboration with Vinnell corporation of Virginia. The contracts also included providing services at two more minor military sites in Turkey: Ankara and Izmir.

Halliburton Makes a Killing on Iraq Warby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMarch 20th, 2003CorpWatch has learned that VP Cheney's former company has a $multi-million contract servicing troops in Kuwait. This special series looks at how Halliburton profits from the Iraq war, now that bombs are falling on Baghdad.

Indigenous Struggle in Ecuador Becomes a "Cause Beyond Control"by Kenny Bruno, EarthRights InternationalMarch 13th, 2003Ecuador's government recently ruled indigenous opposition to Amazon oil development a "cause beyond control." That leaves the companies free to pull out. It could also be an excuse to step up repression.

Sweat-Free School Purchasing Resolutions: A New Trend?by Ben Plimpton, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 6th, 2003School Districts and city governments are promising to purchase "sweat-free" uniforms and sports equipment. Organizers say the grassroots initiatives are a cutting edge in the fight against sweatshops.

World Contrastsby Eduardo Galeano, www.portoalegre2003.orgJanuary 16th, 2003Next week, thousands will descend on Porto Alegre, Brazil for the World Social Forum, under the slogan "Another World is Possible." We thought these reflections by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano on the world as it is today were a good place to start.

Tension in Paradiseby Tom Price, Special to CorpWatchDecember 3rd, 2002Tuvalu is like many places brushing up against development, simultaneously simple and complex. Island life hums along here, a small place where everyone knows everyone else, where children ask visitors names, and remember them days or weeks later.

Unity Platform on Corporate AccountabilityUS Based Global Justice GroupsOctober 29th, 2002Some 200 US-Based social and environmental justice groups call for corporate accountability. Among their ten point demands: campaign finance reform and an end to corporate welfare.

Clouds Over Global Warmingby by C.E. Karunakaran, Tamilnadu Science ForumOctober 24th, 2002"I'm not going to let the United States carry the burden for cleaning up the world's air," declared the US presidential candidate George W. Bush, in October 2000. "Only for poisoning it the most," he might have added, had he wanted to be completely truthful; as truthful as, say, Andrew Kerr of the World Wildlife Fund: "The United States is responsible for almost half of the increase in world carbon dioxide in the past decade. That increase is greater than the increase in China, India, Africa and the whole of Latin America." This minor fact would not, of course, deter President Bush from complaining that the Kyoto Protocol, the global compact on dealing with global warming "... exempts 80% of the world, including major population centres such as China and India," as he pulled his country out of the Kyoto process, within a few months of taking office.

Nuclear Renaissance or Nuclear Nightmare?by Karl Grossman, Special to CorpWatchOctober 23rd, 2002Thought the nuclear power industry was dead? Guess again. Industry leaders met to launch a "renaissance" with help from the White House. Check out this CorpWatch exclusive.

Iraq and the Axis of Oilby Maria Elena Martinez and Joshua Karliner, CorpWatchOctober 23rd, 2002In this CorpWatch Opinion, we look at the connection between the looming war in Iraq, corporate crime in America and control of the world's oil supply.

September 11th Didn't Change Everythingby Kenny Bruno, CorpWatchSeptember 10th, 2002A New Yorker looks at the squandered opportunities to make desperately needed changes in the American psyche and global policy following last September 11th.

Will Congress Investigate US Agencies' Enron Ties?by Jim Vallette, Special to CorpWatchAugust 1st, 2002The Senate is investigating the role of private investment banks in the Enron scandal. Could public institutions, like the World Bank and the Export-Import Bank be next?

Bush: Corporate Confidence Manby Charlie Cray and Lee Drutman, Special to CorpWatchJuly 10th, 2002Bush's Corporate Responsibility plan is pretty anemic -- not what you'd expect from a president desperate to keep the current crisis from becoming a major political liability.

George and Dick's Amazing Corporate Misadventuresby Stephen Pizzo, Special to CorpWatchJuly 10th, 2002Has the avalanche of corporate revelations left your head spinning? Investigative journalist Stephen Pizzo offers a cheat sheet to scandals plaguing the White House.

Afghan Pipe Dreamsby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJune 28th, 2002Is the US War on Terrorism in Afghanistan really a war for a natural gas pipeline? Fossil fuel corporations and the World Bank are expressing cautious interest. Activists are concerned.

Edison's Failing Gradeby Tali Woodward, Special to CorpWatchJune 20th, 2002For-profit school manager Edison Schools Inc. promoted itself as the savior of American public education. Now, the company is struggling for its own survival.

Sempra: Exporting Pollutionby J.P. Ross, Greenpeace, Special to CorpWatchMay 27th, 2002San Diego-based Sempra Energy is dodging US environmental laws by building power plants in Mexico -- and shipping the electricity back to California.

Enron's Pipe Schemeby Jimmy Langman, Special to CorpWatchMay 9th, 2002Enron's Cuiaba gas pipeline project, built with US government support, is an ecological and social disaster. Jimmy Langman reports from Bolivia.

The War on Terrorism's Gravy Trainby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMay 2nd, 2002The U.S. military has always relied on private contractors for basic services, but today nearly 10 percent of the emergency U.S. army operations overseas are contracted out to unaccountable private corporations.

Biotechnology's Third Generationby Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, Special to CorpWatchApril 5th, 2002From golden rice to anti-viral tomatoes, is the biotech industry's third generation good medicine or good marketing? And, activists ask, what are the environmental consequences?

Williams Companies: Enron IIby Wayne Madsen, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 14th, 2002Top executives say Williams Companies faces huge losses due to deals with Enron. But a lawsuit says they were covering up the company's own Enron-like activities.

Globalizing Hopeby Joshua Karliner, CorpWatchFebruary 6th, 2002The only way to really describe the World Social Forum that just ended in Brazil is a global political ''carnaval.''

The Whole World Was Watchingby Kenny Bruno, CorpWatchFebruary 6th, 2002The first week of February posed a test to the anti-corporate globalization movement and its targets. Local NY organizers got an A for attitude. The police passed. The WEF -- they flunked as usual.

Trading in Disasterby Nityanand Jayaraman and Kenny Bruno, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 6th, 200230,000 tons of possibly contaminated steel scrap from the twin towers has been exported to India. The shipments raise serious public health concerns.

Greenwash + 10by Kenny Bruno, CorpWatchJanuary 24th, 2002This new report documents corporate influence on the United Nations and calls on the UN to take measures for accountability.

Star Wars: Protecting Globalization From Aboveby Karl Grossman, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 18th, 2002Bush's revived Star Wars program got a boost after 9-11. He's asking for $8.3 billion for a missile program from Congress, and the big defense contractors are hoping to make a fortune.

Enron: Pulling the Plug on the Global Power Brokerby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchDecember 13th, 2001How could one of the most wealthy and powerful corporations in the world go bust overnight? It turns out that the 7th largest US business was mostly smoke and mirrors.

Fast Track Passage Won't Defeat the ''Seattle Coalition''by Sarah Anderson and John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy StudiesDecember 6th, 2001Fast Track trade authority has squeaked through Congress. Analysts from the Institute for Policy Studies say it is one set back among many victories in a battle that is far from over.

The Meaning of Dohaby Walden Bello and Anuradha Mittal, Focus on the Global South and Food FirstNovember 15th, 2001Two activist-scholars set the record straight on what was gained and what was lost at the recent WTO summit in Qatar.

ENGLAND: The WTO's Hidden Agendaby Gregory Palast, Special to CorpWatchNovember 9th, 2001Confidential documents show top corporate executives met secretly with government officials to set the pro-business agenda for the current WTO talks. This may be the smoking gun that proves corporate collusion in the WTO process.

WTO and the Fate of the World's Forestsby Victor Menotti, Special to CorpWatchNovember 1st, 2001At stake in upcoming WTO negotiations is the question of who will control and benefit from the world's forests.

The WTO, Forests and the Spirit of Rioby Ricardo Carrere, Special to CorpWatchNovember 1st, 2001Rainforest activist Ricardo Carrere argues that it's time to reject free trade and return to the environmental principles that guided the 1992 Earth Summit.

Where Do We Go From Here?by Joshua Karliner, CorpWatchOctober 11th, 2001CorpWatch Director Joshua Karliner looks at the challenges facing the anti-corporate globalization movement since the WTC attack.

Brooklyn Diaryby Kenny Bruno, CorpWatchSeptember 19th, 2001CorpWatch is based in San Francisco, but one of our 7 person staff, Kenny Bruno, actually lives and works in New York City. The following are some of his thoughts and impressions on the terrorist attack on his hometown and Washington DC -- attacks that all of us here at CorpWatch vehemently condemn.

After Carlo Giuliani, Peaceful Protests Must Continueby Kenny Bruno, Special to CorpWatchJuly 25th, 2001The highly publicized killing of Carlo Giuliani during the protests in Genoa on Friday, July 19th may mark a milestone for the anti-corporate globalization movement as significant as the Battle in Seattle.

G8: Are You Happy?by Susan George, Special to CorpWatchJuly 24th, 2001The movement for a different kind of globalization is in danger. Either we expose what the police are actually up to and prevent the violence of the few, or we risk shattering the greatest political hope in the last several decades.

Toxic Drift: Monsanto and the Drug War in Colombiaby Jeremy Bigwood, Special to CorpWatchJune 21st, 2001A prominent U.S. Senator and other government officials from both Washington and Bogotá stood on a Colombian mountainside above fields of lime-green coca -- the plant sacred to Andean Indians, but also the source of the troublesome drug cocaine. They were awaiting a demonstration of aerial herbicide spraying, part of the U.S. drug war in Colombia.

DynCorp in Colombia: Outsourcing the Drug Warby Jeremy Bigwood, Special to CorpWatchMay 23rd, 2001A U.S.-made Huey II military helicopter manned by foreigners wearing U.S. Army fatigues crash lands after being pockmarked by sustained guerrilla fire from the jungle below. Its crew members, one of them wounded, are surrounded by enemy guerrillas. Another three helicopters, this time carrying American crews, cut through the hot muggy sky.

The Fight Against Big Tobacco: Domestic Battles, Global Implicationsby Robert Weissman, Special to CorpWatchApril 26th, 2001As a new round of negotiations on an international treaty controlling the spread of tobacco use opens in Geneva, it is still unclear what the Bush administration's position will be. What is clear, however, is that international tobacco control will almost certainly not be a priority for the Bush administration.

Quebec: One More Crack in the Wallby Sarah Anderson, Special to CorpWatchApril 23rd, 2001QUEBEC CITY -- ''Excuse me, but is this Canada?'' Scrawled on the ''Wall of Shame,'' a 10-foot high, 2 and a half mile long fence erected to keep protesters away from George Bush and 33 other leaders gathered at the Summit of the Americas, the slogan just about says it all.

Big Tobacco and Free Tradeby Robert Weissman, Special to CorpWatchApril 12th, 2001An international conspiracy to poison millions of men, women and teenagers around the world is killing four million people a year. By 2030, it will take 10 million lives annually, 70 percent of them in developing countries. This ''conspiracy'' is run by Big Tobacco: companies like Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and R.J. Reynolds, to name just a few.

Bush Administration Tobacco Industry Tiesby Robert Weissman, Special to CorpWatchApril 1st, 2001Policy making authority in the Bush administration on tobacco issues will rest largely with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Justice Department, the U.S. Trade Representative and, above all, the White House. Many key officials in these agencies have ties to the tobacco industry or have suggested sympathy for positions favored by the industry.

Greenwash Campaign ProfileMarch 22nd, 2001CorpWatch gives out bimonthly Greenwash awards to corporations that put more money, time and energy into slick PR campaigns aimed at promoting their eco-friendly images, than they do to actually protecting the environment. Nominations for these Awards come from our audience.

Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN Campaign ProfileMarch 22nd, 2001For the past two years CorpWatch has led an international coalition of organizations in exposing the flawed human rights and environmental records of companies forming partnerships with the UN. CorpWatch is the Secretariat of this coalition, now known as the Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN.

Climate Justice Initiative Campaign ProfileMarch 22nd, 2001Last year CorpWatch launched an initiative to redefine the global warming issue as a question of local and global justice. In November 2000, CorpWatch organized the First Climate Justice Summit in The Hague bringing representatives from communities already adversely impacted by the fossil-fuel industry from the US and Southern countries together to join the climate change debate.

About CorpWatchMarch 22nd, 2001On the ground and on the web, through education and activism, San Francisco-based CorpWatch works to hold corporations accountable on issues of human rights, labor rights and environmental justice, locally and globally.

Zapatistas: Bad For Businessby Martin Espinoza, Special to CorpWatchMarch 22nd, 2001Are the Zapatistas winning the war of ideas against neoliberalism and free trade?

Peddling the E-Ticket to the Development Trainby Sarah Anderson, Special to CorpWatchMarch 8th, 2001As both the Democratic and Republican parties jockey to win the favor of the high-tech industry, U.S. trade officials under Clinton and now under the Bush Administration have been aggressively promoting high tech's global interests by breaking down barriers to electronic commerce.

This Is What Democracy Looks Likeby Kenny Bruno, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 28th, 2001Thousands gather in Porto Alegre, Brazil to look towards a future in which corporations no longer rule.

Silence = Death: AIDS, Africa and Pharmaceuticalsby Stephen Lewis, Toronto Globe and MailJanuary 26th, 2001While 25 million Africans are living with AIDS, Northern pharmaceutical companies and governments are turning their back on the greatest tragedy of our time according to former deputy head of UNICEF.

The Promise of Porto Alegreby Ignacio Ramonet, Le Monde DiplomatiqueThe new century is starting in Porto Alegre. All kinds of people, each in their own ways, have been contesting and critiquing neo-liberal globalisation, and many of them will be gathering in this southern Brazilian city on 25-30 January for the first World Social Forum. This time they won't just be protesting -- as they were in Seattle, Washington, Prague and elsewhere -- against the world-wide injustices, inequalities and disasters created by the excesses of capitalism (see the article by Bernard Cassen).

Halliburton's Destructive Engagementby Kenny Bruno, Special to CorpWatchOctober 11th, 2000Since Dick Cheney became a candidate for Vice President, many journalists have focused on his mixed financial record as CEO of Halliburton, and his enormous retirement package. Few have investigated Dick Cheney's role in influencing foreign policy for the benefit of the company.

Prague Police Brutalize Activist Prisonerby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 29th, 2000PRAGUE -- Yehoshua Tzarfati has a chilling story to tell. He came to Prague to help as a medic during this week's World Bank/IMF demonstrations.

Protestors Parade Through Pragueby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 26th, 2000PRAGUE -- In a day of protests that were more colorful than violent, 9,000 demonstrators surrounded Prague's Congress Center where the World Bank and IMF are holding their annual meeting.

Al Gore: Friend of Corporate Americaby Bill Mesler, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 8th, 2000Al Gore has raised more money than any other Democratic presidential candidate in history. But his pandering to rich and powerful comes at a cost to the public.

The Struggle for a Deglobalized Worldby Walden Bello, Focus on the Global SouthSeptember 6th, 2000In the mid-nineties, the WTO had been sold to the global public as the lynchpin of a multilateral system of economic governance that would provide the necessary rules to facilitate the growth of global trade and the spread of its beneficial effects.

Integrity in the Balance: Al Gore's Record On the Environmentby Bill Mesler, Special to CorpWatchAugust 29th, 2000Terri Swearingen has heard enough of Al Gore's promises on the environment. ''There may be some that believe he is a premier environmentalist, but not me,'' says the forty-three year old registered nurse and mother.

Al Gore: The Other Oil Candidateby Bill Mesler, Special to CorpWatchAugust 29th, 2000For thousands of years, the Kitanemuk Indians made their home in the Elk Hills of central California. Come February 2001, the last of the 100 burial grounds, holy places and other archaeological sites of the Kitanemuks will be obliterated by the oil drilling of Occidental Petroleum Company.

Beyond the DNCby Ruth Conniff, Special to CorpWatchAugust 18th, 2000LOS ANGELES -- It's all over but the spinning. Outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the LAPD took snap shots if each other in the protest area where earlier in the week they clubbed and tear gassed demonstrators, as well as a few convention-goers and members of the media.

DNC: Corporate Crusadersby Ruth Conniff, Special to CorpWatchAugust 17th, 2000LOS ANGELES -- On Wednesday night, at the House of Blues on Sunset strip, the Edison Electric Institute, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the American Gas Association, and the National Mining Association put on a Motown bash honoring Representative John Dingell (Democrat of Michigan) under the banner ''The Motor City Takes L.A. for a Spin.''

DNC: Corporate Sponsors and Rubber Bulletsby Ruth Conniff, Special to CorpWatchAugust 15th, 2000LOS ANGELES -- Towering over the fenced protest area outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles is a giant mural with the faces of Cesar Chavez, Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.

It Feels Like One Big Business Partyby Randy Hayes, Los Angeles TimesAugust 11th, 2000Monday is the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where thousands of environmental, human rights, labor and campaign finance reform advocates will gather both in the streets and at the Shadow Convention hosted by Arianna Huffington. We of Rainforest are not gathering to show our support for the Democratic Party.

Cheney's Oil Investments and the Future of Mexico's Democracyby Martin Espinoza, Special to CorpWatchAugust 8th, 2000MEXICO CITY -- The GOP's vice-presidential hopeful Dick Cheney once claimed that it was a damned shame the ''good lord'' didn't put the earth's most abundant oil reserves in democratic countries.

RNC: ''Don't Worry, Be Happy''by Ruth Conniff, Special to CorpWatchAugust 1st, 2000PHILADELPHIA -- Among the myriad corporate sponsors of the Republican Convention this year is Dale Carnegie and Associates, Inc., the self-described ''global leader in business training.''

Enron in India: The Dabhol Disasterby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJuly 20th, 2000Just before dawn on June 3, 1997, police officers forcibly entered the homes of several women in Veldur, a fishing village in western India, dragging them into waiting police vans and beating them with sticks.

George W. Bush Gets Layedby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJuly 20th, 2000This investigative report the uncovers close ties between the GOP candidate and Enron Corportations CEO.

Seeds of Resistance: Grassroots Activism vs. Biotech Agricultureby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchMay 25th, 2000SAN RAMON, CA -- About a dozen demonstrators dressed in mock biohazard suits dump food products from Safeway supermarket shelves into a plastic bin in front of the Marriott Hotel in this quiet suburban town East of San Francisco.

US: Against China PNTRby Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, Focus on the CorporationMay 22nd, 2000The debate over whether the U.S. Congress should grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR, formerly known as permanent most favored nation) status is about many things, but none more important than this basic question.

US: Don't Bash Chinaby Walden Bello and Anuradha Mittal, Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food FirstMay 1st, 2000The anti-China trade campaign amounts to a Faustian bargain that seeks to buy some space for US organized labor at the expense of real solidarity with workers and progressive worker and environmental movements globally against transnational capital.

Beyond Street Tacticsby Kenny Bruno, Special to CorpWatchApril 17th, 2000The final day of the World Bank/IMF protests ranged from stand offs between protestors and police, an obsession with violence on the part of the media, and excitement and hopefulness from organizers and activists.

The World Bank Takes More Than it Givesby Julie Light, CorpWatchApril 14th, 2000Dr. Vineeta Gupta is a physician and human rights activist based in Punjab, India. She has focused her efforts on World Bank efforts to privatize healthcare in Punjab. According to Dr. Gupta, the result of World Bank policies has not been greater access to healthcare.

WTO: Watershed for Alternative Mediaby Julie Light, Media AllianceApril 1st, 2000There are watershed moments in which world events and popular perceptions of them are changed. The week of protests at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle last year was indisputably such a moment.

Stolen HarvestCorpWatchMarch 17th, 2000Stolen Harvest is the story of how those who labor, those who grow foods, nature and her amazing creatures, are all literally being stolen by tremendously clever mechanisms being put in place by global corporations trying to find new markets.

Where was the Color in Seattle?by Elizabeth (Betita) Martinez, ColorlinesFebruary 1st, 2000In the vast acreage of published analysis about the splendid victory over the World Trade Organization last November 29-December 3, it is almost impossible to find anyone wondering why the 40-50,000 demonstrators were overwhelmingly Anglo.

The Historic Significance of Seattleby Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and EcologyDecember 10th, 1999The failure of the WTO Ministerial meeting in Seattle was a historic watershed, in more than one way. Firstly, it has demonstrated that globalisation is not an inevitable phenomena which must be accepted at all costs but a political project which can be responded to politically.

US: The Revolt of Developing Nationsby Martin Khor, Third World NetworkDecember 6th, 1999It was an amazing week. In Seattle, the contradictions of globalization revved to a climactic conclusion. At the end, the WTO Ministerial Conference that was supposed to launch a new Round collapsed, suddenly, in almost total chaos, like a house of cards.

Greenhouse Gangsters vs. Climate Justiceby Kenny Bruno, Joshua Karliner & China Brotsky, CorpWatchNovember 1st, 1999This report documents how the companies not only contribute to global warming but also use their enormous power to DENY the problem, DELAY solutions, DIVIDE their opposition, DUMP their problems in the developing world, and DUPE the public into believing the problem is solved.

The Prison Industry: Capitalist Punishmentby Julie Light, CorpWatchOctober 28th, 1999The CMT Blues scandal and the host of human rights and labor issues it raises, is just the tip of the iceberg in a web of interconnected business, government and class interests which critics dub the ''prison industrial complex.''

The Prison Industrial Complex: Crisis and Controlby Christian Parenti, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 1st, 1999The author of Lockdown America paints a chilling picture of social and economic crisis, corporate interest and the need to lock up ''disposable'' populations. Parenti also looks at the major corporate players in the prison industrial complex.

Privatizing Painby Mumia Abu-Jamal, Special to CorpWatchAugust 26th, 1999In this original column for CorpWatch, death-row journalist Jamal describes some of the dramatic abuses that occur when the profit motive and punishment collide.

Prison Privatization: The Bottom Lineby Alex Friedmann, Special to CorpWatchAugust 21st, 1999This CCA prisoner describes his stint in a private lockup where the company's stock quotes were posted on the wall. His reporting on company policies landed him in hot water and then back in a state prison.

La Linea: Gender, Labor and Environmental Justice on the US-Mexico Borderby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchJune 30th, 1999TECATE, Mexico -- Tecate's coat of arms dubs this Mexican town ''Baja California's Industrial Paradise.'' About 30 miles from Tijuana, the city is home to the Tecate brewery and also houses an industrial park filled with assembly plants, or maquiladoras. This ''industrial paradise'' is one of several Mexican border boomtowns that is part of a global production system.

Engendering Changeby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchJune 26th, 1999For women working in Mexican assembly plants, known as maquiladoras, insisting on their legal rights takes what are colloquially referred to as cojones. It indicates that Mexico's low wage feminine labor force may not be as docile as foreign employers would like to believe. It also is a harbinger of an incipient movement inside Mexico's expanding export-processing sector.

Tijuana Police Defy Court Protection of Maquiladora Strikeby David Bacon, Special to CorpWatchMay 16th, 1999TIJUANA -- For two weeks, Tijuana has teetered on the brink of official lawlessness, as city and state police continue to defy Baja California's legal system. Raul Ramirez, member of the Baja California Academy of Human Rights, warned last week that ''the state is in danger of violating the Constitution and the Federal Labor Law... as it succumbs to the temptation to use force.''

MEXICO: University Professors Photos Draw the Wrath of Border Industrialistsby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchApril 29th, 1999It wasn't just the politically provocative photographs that got Fred Lonidier's exhibit at Tijuana's public university taken down. It was the fact that he had the audacity to leaflet maquiladora workers outside the factory gates and invite them to the gallery that got his show yanked.

A Perilous Partnershipby Joshua Karliner, John Cavanagh, Phyllis Bennis and Ward Morehouse, CorpWatch, IPS and CIPAMarch 16th, 1999In a sharp detour from its mission of serving the world's poor, a key UN agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has solicited funds from global corporations with tarnished records on human rights, labor and the environment. A Perilous Partnership takes a hard look at this new initiative to build corporate partnerships in the United Nations.

MEXICO: Miners' Strike Broken in Revolutionary Cananeaby David Bacon, Special to CorpWatchMarch 12th, 1999In the mile-high mountains of the Sonora desert, just 25 miles south of the border between Arizona and Mexico, over two thousand miners have been locked in a bitter industrial war since mid-November. Here Grupo Mexico operates North America's oldest, and one of the world's largest copper mines -- Cananea -- in a town which has been a symbol of anti-government insurrection for almost 100 years.

Smoke and Mirrorsby Michael Belliveau, CorpWatchOctober 1st, 1998Almost a year after governments agreed to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, a growing number of environmentalists are sounding the alarm on the Treaty's call for a system of global emissions trading.

Corporate-Sponsored Public SchoolsApplied Research CenterJuly 8th, 1998Here is a fact sheet on the education industry prepared by the Applied Research Center (ARC). It is an excellent resource listing a ''who's who'' of the for-profit education world.

Race and Classroom: The Corporate ConnectionCorpWatchJuly 8th, 1998Activist and researcher Libero Della Piana talks about the history of institutional racism in U.S. schools and how it leaves children of color vulnerable to corporate intervention in the classroom.

Giving Kids the BusinessCorpWatchJuly 8th, 1998CorpWatch discusses industry's efforts to cash in on public schools with Professor Molnar, Author of Giving Kids the Business and director of the Center for the Analysis of Commercialism in Education.

A Local Battle Highlights the National Debate Over EMOsby Julie Light, Special to CorpWatchJuly 8th, 1998CorpWatch editor Julie Light reports on a pitched battle for the future of a San Francisco school. The players? The Edison Corporation, the local school board, parents, teachers and students.

The Education Industry: The Corporate Takeover of Public Schoolsby Julie Light, CorpWatchJuly 8th, 1998Education in the U.S. has become big business. The ''education industry,'' a term coined by EduVentures, an investment banking firm, is estimated to be worth between $630 and $680 billion in the United States. The stock value of 30 publicly traded educational companies is growing twice as fast as the Dow Jones Average.

Microsoft and Internet DevelopmentCorpWatchMay 6th, 1998What do computer programmers think about Microsoft's role in the development of the Internet, and the social implications of the underlying technical issues? We asked Harry Hochheiser, an Internet software developer and board member of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility for his perspective.

Defying a Microsoft World ViewCorpWatchMay 6th, 1998Audrie Krause is the founder and executive director of NetAction. When this interview took place in January 1998, Microsoft had recently agreed under threat of a contempt of court citation in the US Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, to allow personal computer manufacturers who install Windows to remove the Internet Explorer icon from the desktop.

Philippine Greens Protest the Visit of Bill Gatesby Roberto Verzola, The Philippine GreensMarch 20th, 1998A denunciation of Microsoft for pressuring the Philippine government to establish special laws and law enforcement forces to protect the corporation's software at the expense of educating Philippine students.

Guarding the Multinationalsby Pratap Chatterjee, Multinational MonitorMarch 1st, 1998Alan Golacinski was White House Security Adviser, a position he rose to after 20 years in the State Department, while Michael Golovatov spent an equal number of years working for the KGB's crack commando team, known at the time as Alpha.Now both Golacinski and Golovatov report to the same bosses-Richard Bethell and Sir Alistair Morrison-two ex-Special Air Service (SAS) commandos in London. They run a profitable private company named Defense Systems Limited (DSL) in London in offices next to Buckingham Palace, working for Petrochemical companies, mining or mineral extraction companies and their subsidiaries, multinationals, banks, embassies, non-governmental organizations, national and international organizations.

Some Trends in the Education IndustryApplied Research CenterDecember 1st, 1997Here is a comparative chart listing some trends in the education industry prepared by the Applied Research Center.

MITSUBISHI: The Most Environmentally Destructive Corporate Force on Earthby Joshua Karliner, CorpWatchDecember 1st, 1997The best known, most prestigious, and largest keiretsu, is the Mitsubishi Group of companies. Given the size and reach of its diverse activities, and due to the fact that it is more heavily focused in polluting industrial sectors than other keiretsu, the Mitsubishi Group may well be the single most environmentally destructive corporate force on Earth.

VIETNAM: Smoke From a Hired Gunby Dara O'Rourke, Transnational Resource and Action Center (TRAC)November 10th, 1997TRAC is pleased to be able to shed some light on this subject by releasing the first audit of this kind ever to be made public: a confidential Ernst and Young assessment of the Tae Kwang Vina plant, a factory which employs 9,200 workers who produce 400,000 pairs of shoes a month exclusively for Nike in Vietnam.

Towards a Democratic Media SystemCorpWatchOctober 1st, 1997Robert W. McChesney is Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Wisconsin, Madison talks about corporate control of the Internet in this CorpWatch interview.

CorpWatch Interviews Lora Jo FooCorpWatchSeptember 22nd, 1997Here is an interview with Laura Jo Foo of the Asian Law Caucus and President of Sweatshop Watch on the issue of a Living Wage.

Clinton's New ''No Sweatshop'' Agreementby Tim Connor, Community Aid AbroadSeptember 22nd, 1997In April this year, with much fanfare, US President Bill Clinton announced the introduction of a new ''No Sweatshop'' Code of Conduct for US Apparel and Footwear companies. The code is voluntary, but high profile companies like Nike Inc., Reebok International Ltd. and Liz Claiborne Inc. were among the ten initial signatories. These companies agreed that a set of minimum standards for working conditions in factories would be adhered to in the production of their goods -- wherever that production occurs.

Global Tobacco Control Policy FrameworkSan Francisco Tobacco Free CoalitionJune 30th, 1997As 33% of San Franciscans are immigrants, the Coalition believes that it must think globally and act locally in the development of a Global Tobacco Control Policy Framework.

Dr. Stan Glantz on The Tobacco SettlementCorpWatchJune 30th, 1997To get some perspective on the deal negotiated with the tobacco industry CorpWatch spoke with Stanton Glantz, Professor of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. Glantz, a long-time tobacco crusader, is the author of the Cigarette Papers, the published version of internal documents leaked to him from the Brown and Williamson tobacco corporation.

Tobacco's Global Ghettos: Big Tobacco Targets The World's Poorby Carol McGruder, San Francisco African American Tobacco Free ProjectJune 30th, 1997With daily reportage and media coverage chronicling the first chinks in the once seemingly impenetrable armor of Big Tobacco, the general public might get the very erroneous impression that Big Tobacco is going down for the count. Nothing could be further from the truth. To the average person the $300-$400 billion dollar ''global'' settlement that is currently being bandied about seems like an awful lot of money. To those of us in the tobacco control business, we know it is but a drop in the ocean to Big Tobacco, and a small price to pay to ensure that they will be able to continue business as usual in the rest of the world. The Tobacco Industry won't even flinch as they write the check.

Tobacco Industry Fact SheetINFACTJune 30th, 1997The following tobacco industry facts were excerpted with permission from INFACT's web site. INFACT is a national grassroots corporate watchdog organization founded in 1977.

No Butts About It, Tobacco KillsCorpWatch, San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition, and San Francisco Tobacco Free ProjectJune 30th, 1997The following is excerpted from the World Health Organization's Tobacco Use: A Public Health Disaster.

Tom Beanal's Speech at Loyola University in New OrleansProject UndergroundMay 19th, 1997On May 23, 1996, Mr. Tom Beanal, leader of the Amungme Tribal Council and principal in a $6 billion suit against Freeport-McMoRan, spoke at Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Freeport McMoRan's Corporate ProfileProject UndergroundMay 19th, 1997Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, headquartered in New Orleans, is one of the world's largest and lowest cost copper and gold producers, from its Grasberg mine in Irian Jaya. In 1996 it was regarded as one of the ten worst corporations by the Multinational Monitor magazine.